


We'll Be Alright

by asiacore



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M, slight ot5
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-04
Updated: 2013-01-04
Packaged: 2017-11-23 15:20:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/623620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asiacore/pseuds/asiacore
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“You’re my problem!” Niall’s face is red and Liam’s afraid he’s going to start hyperventilating again “Both of you, just leave me alone.” He goes to leave again and when Zayn puts an arm out to push him down Niall smacks it away. “FUCK <em>OFF</em>!”</p>
            </blockquote>





	We'll Be Alright

**Author's Note:**

> remember when the hunger games first came out and i couldn't stop listening to the soundtrack? remember when i wrote super angsty niall and alluded to threeway sex tapes and infidelity?
> 
> yeah me either
> 
> also found [here](http://shipslostatsea.tumblr.com/post/23942402650/niall-centric-zniam-angst-oneshot)

It wasn’t fair.

Because Liam had Danielle and Louis had Eleanor and Harry kinda drifted around from girl to girl, but essentially he had Louis as well.

And now Zayn has Perrie.

But Niall has no one and he’s alone.

He supposes he’s been alone this entire time; it’s just that he felt like more time was spent with him when all these girls weren’t in the picture.

Times when Niall, Liam, and Zayn would go about goofing around were his fondest memories since the band was formed.

It was generally perceived that Liam was the level-headed one (which he is) but he knew how to have fun. They’d go around pranking everyone or just hanging around playing video games or making videos that would have Liam swearing, “Promise me Niall no one will ever see this.” And Niall would cross his heart and hope to die and Zayn would just smile and shake his head.

None of that ever really happens anymore though.

Now he kinda just sits around on his phone, constantly updating his Twitter because, _what else is there to do?_

And he just really misses his boys.

So maybe he’s going about this the wrong way.

When they do actually try to talk to him he’ll brush them off with one word answers like, “yeah” or “ok” and if Danielle or Perrie are even mentioned he’s already up and halfway out the door because he doesn’t want to be bothered.

-

Surprisingly the first person to notice Niall acting weird is Louis.

He steps in front him one day when he’s trying to run out of the room because Liam started whining about how he missed Danielle.

“What’re _you_ doing?” Niall quips because he’d assume the first person to catch on would be Harry, or maybe Liam, or hell Zayn even before Louis.

“You alright?” he asks and now the room is silent and both Liam and Zayn are staring at him.

“I’m fine,” he tries to squeeze past Louis, but he won’t budge, “do you mind?”

“Niall, what’s the matter with you?” Harry appears beside Louis and Niall wants to turn around because he doesn’t like being surrounded like this they _know_ he's severely claustrophobic and he thinks he’s going to cry, but he can’t do that because Zayn and Liam are right there and he just wants to leave.

“Why do you care?” he spits and turns his head so he’s not facing the four pairs of eyes that were staring intently at him.

“Because we’re your friends,” Harry goes to put his hand on Niall’s shoulder but he shrugs him off.

“Hardly,” Niall’s voice was wavering “I recall friends giving a shit about each other.”

“Which is why we’re here right now,” Louis crosses his arms in determination. “What is this really about?”

“I just want to leave!” Niall throws his arms up in the air. “I want to be out of this room, I want to be out of this band, I want to be out of your lives!” tears are freely streaming down his face now.

Liam and Zayn are up and next to him and, “Don’t touch me!” Niall heaves, eyes blurry and words thick in his mouth. “This is all your fault,” he’s bent over clutching his knees now, pointing at Zayn. His head is hanging and Liam’s pulling him, “I said don’t touch me!” he struggles against his grip, “This is your fault too!”

But he’s being thrown onto the couch that Liam and Zayn just abandoned and Liam’s talking, “Shh,” he brushes blonde hairs from Niall’s forehead “You’ll be fine.”

And Niall doesn’t realize he’s having a panic attack until he sees the horrified look on Harry’s face and Zayn’s handing him a bottle of water.

“Niall calm down,” Louis is next to Liam and he wants to shout for everyone to fuck off because he is calm.

Niall sips at the water quietly as his breathing tries it’s best to go back to normal, Liam still stroking his hair and Niall wants to tell him to stop, but he doesn’t really want him to stop so he closes his eyes and leans into the touch.

“We’ll be leaving you to it,” Harry is tugging Louis off the floor once Niall is calm.

“What?” Zayn quirks an eyebrow and them, but Harry just waves him off and Louis’ telling him to, “Talk to Niall.”

“You alright now?” Liam asks when they’re gone.

Niall nods and gets up to leave, but Zayn is pushing him back down, “No, what’s this all about?”

“Nothing,” Niall shakes his head “don’t worry about it.” He tries to leave again but was shoved back down on the couch. “What is your problem?” he snarls.

“What’s _your_ problem?” Zayn bites back.

“Guys-” but neither of them are listening to Liam.

“You’re my problem!” Niall’s face is red and Liam’s afraid he’s going to start hyperventilating again “Both of you, just leave me alone.” He goes to leave again and when Zayn puts an arm out to push him down Niall smacks it away. “FUCK _OFF_!”

“That’s enough!” and now they’re both listening to Liam.

“I don’t even know what’s wrong with him!” Zayn’s screaming now and gesturing wildly “He says it’s both of our fault, but neither of us has talked to him for weeks!”

“That’s the fucking problem!” Niall’s screaming too.

“What does that have to do with us? You barge out of the room every time we come in!”

“Because maybe no one wants to hear you to go on about your fucking girlfriends all day!”

“Is that what this is about?” Liam’s the only one not screaming.

“You’re jealous of our girlfriends?” Zayn’s tone is bitter. “Oh, that’s fuck—”

“I’m not _jealous_! I—”

“He misses us,” Liam interjects, and at least he gets it, “don’t you get it? That’s what this is all about. I’ve been wrapped up in Dani lately, and you and Perrie are in that honeymoon stage where all you do is talk about one another, and Niall feels left out.”

Zayn rolls his eyes, “That’s ridiculous!”

“But it’s true,” and Niall instantly regrets saying it.

Now he seems needy and dependent, which he isn’t, he just misses his mates.

“Seriously?” Zayn’s rolling his eyes again, but his face is softer, less angry and Niall is squeezing his eyes shut, willing himself not to start crying again.

“Niall,” Liam’s grabbing at his hands, “We miss you too Niall. Every time you leave the room all we can do is talk about you, and wonder what we did to make you so upset.”

But Zayn wasn’t going to open up as easily as Liam was.

“I had noticed you acting a bit weird, but I assumed you needed your space. I thought me bothering you would just make it worse.” Liam continued.

Niall’s crying again, fuck, and Zayn can’t take it anymore, he’s on his knees next to Liam in an instant grabbing at Niall’s face, “Fuck Niall, please stop crying.” Zayn’s face is twisted in discomfort, “I hate seeing you like this, shh.” He’s wiping away tears and pressing kisses on whatever skin he can reach.

“I love you, Niall,” Liam’s rubbing circles onto the backs of Niall’s hands.

“ _We_ love you, Niall,” Zayn presses a kiss to each of his eyelids until they open, “and we always will, okay? Bros before, er well— _girls_ and all that.”

“What Zayn is trying to say is, no one will ever come before you.” Liam’s assuring him and Niall thinks back to those forbidden videos.

He remembers quiet kisses stolen in dimly lit rooms, words—no, not words but, declarations and promises whispered against skin. Liam always reluctant to actually look at the camera until he’s being coerced by Zayn, Niall watching in complete adoration, ‘ _my boys_ ’ he’d smile to himself.

But none of that happens anymore. Are they still _his_ boys? Or do they belong soley to their girlfriends now?

“Promises are promises.” Zayn’s clambering up into Niall’s lap and Liam is beside him on the couch now and this is all too much for him.

Niall’s snatches his hands out of Liam’s grasp and starts pushing Zayn away ignoring the hurt flashing in his eyes, “We can’t do this,” it hurts to say, “you guys are spoken for.”

“Niall—”

“Really, Niall?” Zayn’s agitated again, “There’s no winning with you! What do you want us to do? What else can we say?”

“There’s nothing to do or say, things will never be the way they were before!”

“Oh shut up!” Zayn is kissing him and it’s hard and sloppy and their teeth are clashing, but Niall’s whimpering and clutching at Zayn’s waist and this is so wrong and this’ll never work out.

Liam’s leaning over Zayn’s shoulder, “Stop worrying,” he takes over Niall’s mouth and unlike Zayn he’s soft and sweet and passionate, and Niall’s grip on Zayn just hardens because he doesn’t want to, but he’s giving in.

Giving in to the idea that this could actually work. This, whatever it is the three of them ~~have~~ had, only in empty rooms and dark spaces, never actually spoken about in public or in the presence of Harry or Louis.

“If it bothers you so much we won’t talk about them as much when you’re around,” Zayn’s hands are sliding down Niall’s chest, “that okay?”

_It’s a start_ , Niall thinks but settles for a silent nod and licks at his lips absentmindedly when Liam pulls away.

“The others will be back to check in soon,” Liam’s words are hot on Zayn’s cheek and he nods in understanding making his way off Niall’s lap and onto the couch opposite Liam, next to Niall. “We’ll get through this,”

“Together,” Zayn adds.

And Niall believes them, that they’ll do their part to make _this_ work, ‘this’ being their weird three-way relationship thing, is what he’s taken to calling it.

Which is why he’s taken their hands in his hands, interlocking fingers, fighting the smile playing on his lips.

“ _Together_.”


End file.
